Chapter 14
Pras Lavender
The Night Star Village in the Other World
I clutched the book that held Ferrick and some of my remains to my chest while pondering how Clarence Moonscale was so nose-blind.
Had the boulder to his head messed with his sense of smell?
My original plan was to head straight to the Pit of Frost and see if they knew what to do about Ferrick, but now I had to make an unplanned stop to speak with an old friend.
Someone had to help Beryl get his head on straight and I’d been too dead too long to stick around and do it.
I was dead before he was even thought of.
Though, the person who sired him was alive and well.
Walking into the Other World was like entering a library where information was dumped into my brain like water from a bucket.
I knew exactly where my old friend Delin McCombs was and since I was dead I wasn’t bound by the same rules as the living.
Though, he couldn’t have been inside the Night Star Village long or Diamond would’ve never been able to have her baby on Earthside.
Still, there was plenty of time to get my questions answered.
Since the Night Star Village was a place for the living, I was still a spirit there which made it extra humorous to walk through his walls and sit down and wait for him at his kitchen table.
He stumbled past me to the coffee pot and padded across the kitchen, eyes only half open, several times before he startled, squeaked, and nearly hit the damn roof.
It was great. Being dead in the Other World was a lot more fun than being dead and tied to a book in other places.
“Delin! Is that any way to greet an old friend?” I chided him, smirking.
Delin didn’t look much different. Well, he didn’t look anymore different than Clarence looked. Sure, he was a bit older and broader. He’d gotten taller because living dragons never stopped growing. I was the one locked forever in a youthful state of a life cut short for the better good.
“Pras?” Delin asked, rubbing his eyes and then staring me down.
“The one and bloody only, Del!” I said. “Found out that you sucked Clarence’s dick too. Not that I care, but thought I’d throw that out there, so you’d believe me about who I am. He put it in his memoir.”
“He what?” Delin asked, leaning back against the counter.
“You should really buy a copy. It’s not like he gave the blowjob a whole chapter but he mentioned it,” I nodded, leaning back in the chair, careful to keep one hand on the evil bastard’s book.
“I’m—I didn’t come back because I couldn’t. Volex took me straight to where his parents lived and I was stuck for a hundred years and by the time that was over…..” Delin’s voice trailed off. “Volex told me you died back then.”
“I did die back then. I’m just still around,” I shrugged. “Look, I’m not here to rehash what happened. No one blames you. I’m sorry about your parents. I hope they found peace.”
“They’ve moved on,” Delin nodded, turning toward the percolating coffee pot and pouring himself a mug.
Then he reached into the cabinet and pulled out a second mug.
They were both blue with little green clouds as if someone had hand painted them weird colors on purpose.
“Do you still kill the cup with sugar and cream?”
“Yep,” I nodded and watched as he made the coffee drinkable before joining me at the table. “I’m not here to talk about all that. I’m here to say your kid needs your help.”
“Which one?” Delin asked and I fought off the urge to haul off and kick him under the table.
“What do you bloody mean which one? How many people are you making babies with?”
“Three,” he shrugged. “It’s good money, I’ll have you know.”
“Delin McCombs is a gigolo,” I slapped the table.
“I only slept with the first one. The other two were IVF,” he shrugged. “I’ve never settled down and what can I say? Lady alphas in London want draconic sperm without having to deal with other people.”
“Well, that first one, at least who I think was the first, was my granddaughter,” I said.
“Oh! Shit! Sorry, Pras! I didn’t know,” his scent turned to panic as he spoke.
“I don’t care particularly about that. Diamond Moonscale does what she wants. Always has. What else did I die for if my grandchildren aren’t having all the causal sex they want?” I wasn’t being facetious. If that was the hobby someone wanted and it was consensual, I really didn’t give a damn.
“It wasn’t causal. It was contractual,” Delin said, squaring his shoulders.
“Well, you had a kid,” I said.
“That was the point. Like she brought in microscopes to look at my sperm and everything. Like she ran blood tests herself. She was well-informed about what was going on.”
“Well, he grew up without you,” I said.
“That was the point. Was I ever the guy some kid would want to call dad?” he asked.
“That’s a cheap excuse. He’s grown now and a little lost. Met his mate and they argued over a bloody rock. Seriously, Del. It’s time to go back and set the record straight or at least talk to him.”
“And say what? Yeah, your mum bought a night with me to make you. I’m not going to lie to the kid and tell him that I wanted him but couldn’t be there.”
“No one’s telling you to lie to anyone,” I crossed my arms. “Seriously. You can’t get out of being a dad forever.”
“I’m a sire not a dad. Jizzing doesn’t make anyone a dad.”
“Look, I can’t be there to guide him. So that leaves your living ass.”
“To do what?”
“Go back.”
“I’m not going back to Earthside. I finally got a house of my own here and I like it. I like living with the elves. They have good feasts and magic and---” he narrowed his eyes on Ferrick’s book. “They can probably help you with that haunted book so your ass can get some real rest.”
“I’ll let them help me, but you have to go back. You can’t hide here forever.”
“Like hell I can’t. Beryl can take care of himself.”
“So, you know who he is!” I said and slapped the table again.
“Of course, I do. I watch all my kids. Just because I don’t want to play daddy doesn’t mean I don’t care if they live or die. If he’s dumb enough to argue over a rock, then let him be dumb. It’s a free planet. Me showing up won’t help him.”
“But it will. I’m not saying you need to be his dad. It’s too late for that, but you can show up and acknowledge his existence.”
“Let’s find someone to talk to about that book. I swear it’s stinking up my kitchen, Pras, and this is a nice kitchen!” Delin protested.
“Me and my book are staying right here until you agree to go and at least meet Beryl,” I said.
“Really? You’re dead arse is trying to blackmail me?”
“No, I’m not trying to do anything. Bring in whoever you want to banish me, but I’ll tell you this, people know who I am. They know what I gave up to save my kids and a lot of other people. I don’t think you’ll find someone to banish me so easily.”
“Why are you still so bloody annoying?” Delin asked.
“Because I’ve lived with Ferrick long enough to learn how to be,” I shrugged.
“Fuck, fine. I’ll go over for a week in a few months once my next hundred year mark rolls around. It’s the best the magic of the village will let me do anyway. You know the living can only leave every hundred years,” Delin said.
“That’s all that I ask. Now, who can kill this fuck for real? Like keep him dead and not annoying the rest of us?” I asked and Delin smirked.
“Thought you’d never ask. Let me get some pants and we’ll head out,” he said and dashed out of the kitchen.
It killed something inside me that he, Clarence, and I would never be a trio of young dragons just trying to have fun again.
The least I could do was light a fire under his ass to help our shared descendants.
That would have to be enough. Beryl was the kid related to all three of us and the only one I knew of who was.